Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Arthritis returns?

Well, it looks like Limerick's hocks are bothering her again. It is not a severe case but I want to nip this in the bud before it gets worse.

Last night I sat down and removed all the SmartCalm from the Smartpaks she already had in her bin. Following orders of the Smartpaks will be without the SmartCalm.

If she continues to not consume her supplements then I will have to start giving them to her via oral syringe. I got into a good daily groove when I was giving her dissolved SMZs via oral syringe for some time so it won't be a big deal....and if I go on a trip, Lim is usually good for other people when they give her oral medication.

I am also considering having my new vet, Dr. Heinze, come out and meet the both of us and give Lim an injection of Adequan or Legend. I still have three vials of (good) Adequan from last winter, so this trip should not cost me much. I hope!

I can't believe how quickly Lim's winter coat has begun to grow in! Last week she was still a sleek, sassy thing. But almost overnight, she became a fuzzy darker brown. Now, either due to this (Who says mares don't have "I'm fat!" days, too!?) or because she is in heat, she's been Missy Crankypants lately.

If she were in heat, it would be a good thing....I feel like she skipped a heat cycle in September since the reproductive specialist gave her a shot of Estrumate in mid-August, thereby kick-starting her estrus cycles.

About Heidi

I have always been inspired by the beauty of Thoroughbreds, and my best muse is my off-track Thoroughbred mare, Limerick (registered as Amanda Bry). I live in the Chicago suburbs with my husband and four cats, and I am a writer for a local business and a freelance photo essayist. Follow me on Twitter at @AmandaBry91